Stephen Eze
Stephen Eze (born 8 March 1994) is a Nigerian professional footballer who plays as a defender for FC Tobol.
 | |||
| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Date of birth | 8 March 1994 | ||
| Place of birth | Makurdi, Nigeria | ||
| Height | 1.98 m (6 ft 6 in) | ||
| Playing position(s) | Centre back | ||
| Club information | |||
Current team | Tobol | ||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
| 2012–2014 | Lobi Stars | ||
| 2014–2016 | Sunshine Stars | 63 | (3) |
| 2017 | Ifeanyi Ubah | 29 | (0) |
| 2017 | Kano Pillars | 0 | (0) |
| 2018–2019 | Lokomotiv Plovdiv | 57 | (3) |
| 2020– | Tobol | 0 | (0) |
| National team‡ | |||
| 2015– | Nigeria | 13 | (0) |
|
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of 21 January 2020 ‡ National team caps and goals correct as of 28 July 2019 | |||
Career
In Nigeria
Eze started his professional career at Lobi Stars. He played regularly during two seasons, before moving to Sunshine Stars in September 2014.[1]
After two seasons with Sunshine, Eze joined Ifeanyi Ubah where he won Nigeria Super Cup in early 2017. On 9 November 2017, Eze joined Kano Pillars.[2]
Lokomotiv Plovdiv
Two months later, on 18 January 2018, Eze joined Bulgarian First League club Lokomotiv Plovdiv, signing a two-year contract.[3] He made his league debut for Lokomotiv, coming on as a substitute for Asen Georgiev against Pirin Blagoevgrad, on 18 February 2018.[4] On 16 April 2019, Eze scored his first goal for Lokomotiv in a Bulgarian Cup match against Septemvri Sofia, which Lokomotiv won 4–0.[5]
Tobol
On 21 January 2020, Eze joined Kazakhstan Premier League club FC Tobol.[6]
International career
Eze was invited to play for the national team. He was named in the final 23 man Nigeria Super Eagles B team who played in the Caf CHAN 2016, led by Coach Sunday Oliseh. Eze played all the group games, but the team was eliminated in the first round. His performances led to an invitation to the Super Eagles A team.
In May 2018 he was named in Nigeria’s preliminary 30 man squad for the 2018 World Cup in Russia.[7] However, he did not make the final 23.[8]
Career statistics
Club
As of 22 September 2019
| Club | League | Season | League | Cup | Continental | Other | Total | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | |||
| Lokomotiv Plovdiv | First League | 2017–18 | 13 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | — | 13 | 0 | ||
| 2018–19 | 25 | 0 | 6 | 1 | — | — | 31 | 1 | ||||
| 2019–20 | 10 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 1[lower-alpha 1] | 0 | 15 | 1 | ||
| Career statistics | 48 | 1 | 6 | 1 | 4 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 59 | 2 | ||
Honours
References
- "Eze joins Sunshine from Lobi". supersport.com. 13 September 2014.
- "CHAN Eagles defender, Stephen Eze joins Kano Pillars". sportsration.com. 9 November 2017.
- "Nigeria's Stephen Eze signs two-year contract with Lokomotiv Plovdiv". goal.com. 19 January 2018.
- "Lokomotiv 1–0 Pirin". soccerway.com. 18 February 2018.
- "Lokomotiv Plovdiv 4–0 Septemvri Sofia". soccerway.com. 16 April 2019.
- "Стивен Эзе – новичок желто-зеленых". fctobol.kz/ (in Russian). FC Tobol. 21 January 2020. Retrieved 21 January 2020.
- http://www.goal.com/en-gb/amp/news/revealed-every-world-cup-2018-squad-23-man-preliminary-lists/oa0atsduflsv1nsf6oqk576rb
- https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/amp/football/44346451
External links
- Player Profile at National-Football-Teams
- Profile at Soccerway